How long will homemade ranch dressing last?

Monita is a recipe tester for Food52.

added 2 months ago

I would make half of the recipe. It should last a week

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pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.

added 2 months ago

I agree with Monita that it should last for a week. But I have some issues with your recipe. Yogurt has absolutely no place in ranch dressing. I actually met the guy, Steve Henson of Hidden Valley Ranch, who invented it as a Navy cook. Our meeting was totally by accident in a restaurant bar in Solvang. He wouldn't give me the recipe but he did give me a souvenir pen. I make it like this:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. onion salt
1 tablespoon fresh chives
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
1⁄4 tsp. garlic powder
1⁄4 tsp. salt
1⁄4 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
Pinch ground dried oregano
1 cup buttermilk
It's all about ratio, mayonnaise to buttermilk. Make as little or as much as you like. And skip the jalapenos. Store bought mayo (Best Foods/Hellmans) is fine to use.

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Sam1148 added 2 months ago

That's close...but one thing is missing. MSG. I know, I know, People will scream about a seaweed product in their dressing. But, it's in the original. However, the excellent powdered Greek seasoning "Canvender's" will have that and other spice addition blends in the powder. Also, lemon juice and vinegar should be in the mix. The above is more like a green goddess; Which I think is superior dressing.

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To each their own, but I wouldn't write out Greek yogurt until you've tried it - as I'm planning on doing. First of all, it has FAR fewer calories than traditional ranch dressing. Also, I think its tang will benefit the ranch. If I'm wrong, then OK. I'm out a couple bucks. But if the recipe is right? Well then I'm in heaven, because now I have a low-calorie, homemade ranch dressing I can use. And why skip the jalapenos? No, it's not traditional, but how boring would life be if we only went the traditional route?

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pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.

added 2 months ago

All of which is fine. But just call it something other than "ranch" dressing because it's veering way off the map---like all the way to Greece by way of Mexico. Sorry, I'm a traditionalist and I do stuff the old school way. Nothing wrong with your approach, it's just not ranch dressing anymore.

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pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.

added 2 months ago

It occurred to me that the recipe that wannabe is working from must have included a typo on the part of its author. Two POUNDS of yogurt (assuming you are using it) is waaayyy out of proportion to the other ingredients. It was probably intended to be two CUPS. Still,it's more like tzatziki than "ranch."

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sexyLAMBCHOPx added 2 months ago

Wannabe, I've never tried but I think if you use onion & garlic powder and note the expiration dates on the Greek yougurt & buttermilk it would extend the use in the fridge. Your variation of ranch dressing sounds delicious. Report back!

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Using all dried herbs will extend it's shelf life - less moisture to dilute dressing. Easy recipe to scale down - I am with Pierino about calling it "Ranch", just call it your own.

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The recipe amounts were actually correct - the recipe calls for 32 oz of yogurt; I just wrote two pounds. And, I'm very happy to report, this recipe is awesome! It totally tastes like the ranch dressing, and it definitely does not taste like tzatziki (it has the punch you want from ranch). My husband, who gave me a very scared look when I told him I was going to make my own ranch dressing, told me he wouldn't have known it wasn't store bought if I hadn't told him. I ended up quartering the recipe and am very glad I did. It still made about 2 cups worth. Not sure I'll use it all before it goes bad, but oh well. I also used garlic and onion powder - thanks for that tip! I forgot to buy jalapeno peppers at the store, so I didn't add those, sadly. For those of you who seem to be upset by me calling it ranch dressing, 1) relax. I'm making it in my own home. I'm not serving it to you. If I was ordering this as part of a dish at a restaurant, I'd certainly want to know they made greek yogurt in the ranch dressing, but I really don't think it's going too far to call this ranch dressing. 2) I'd really encourage you guys to give this a try. I am really happy with how it turned out.

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Will have to try it. Thanks for letting us know the result. I am glad you used the dry - having used both I thought the dry worked better (letting it sit for a bit) and it did really keep better. I think fresh garlic and onion gets funky relatively quickly once cut. Good reason to keep some dried on hand.

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